And answers from the Class Matters book:

Tips from Working-Class Activists

Use Your Privilege

If you have privilege, have a conversation with low-income leaders about
how you could use it strategically. If you have a country house, maybe
we could have a retreat there. It's not just your money, it's who you
know, what you know, how you talk.

We were organizing a conference on homelessness, and members of our group
who were homeless were going to speak. There was a woman who had a lot
of classism. She said, "How are you going to find homeless people to ask
to speak? Would they know enough? How could you find homeless people who
can talk well enough?" I was going to debate someone on the Governor's
Council, and she said, "Do you know how to debate? Do you know enough
information to debate? Would you be able to keep up with him?" I asked
my owning-class coworker to talk with her, and she persuaded her. Now
this woman points out classism when it happens. That's the fastest turn-around
I've seen. My coworker was able because of her similar background to explain
how things sounded. It was a strategic use of privilege.

— Lisa Richards

People with more privilege need to figure out how to equalize things,
which doesn't mean to empty out their bank accounts. But it's the responsibility
of activists to be generous, and to figure out how to support things they
care about materially if they possibly can.

— Barbara Smith

I resent people who try to pass as someone like me. I met an upper-middle-class
woman who said, "I'm on welfare so I can be a full-time activist with
youth." That's not what welfare's there for. I hate it when people hide
their privilege and don't acknowledge it.